Simple, Spiced Sweet Potato Bread

UM, YUM! I stumbled upon Izy Hossack’s recipe for this Sweet Potato Bread and I’m beyond glad I did. Her site, Top with Cinnamon, is exactly what I love with cooking and food blogs: clean, simple and straight to the point. I tweaked her recipe and used whole wheat flour, added more spice and swapped the oil base. My only compliant is the loaf came out dense and did not rise very well, but this could be because I kept it true to Izy’s original, which is vegan. Despite not very much added sugar, the agave and sweet potato add just enough sweetness that’s accentuated by the spices. The nuts give the bread a hearty crunch. I whipped up a Greek yogurt spread to serve and the tanginess was the perfect balance.

Ingredients (makes 1 loaf with 12 slices; serving of 1-2 slices)

2 T Smart Balance Light, softened

1 T coconut oil, softened

3 T agave nectar (or 1/4 c brown and/or cane sugar)

2/3 c cooked sweet potato, mashed *

3/4 c unsweetened almond milk

1½ c whole wheat flour

1/8 t salt

1½ t baking powder

2 t cinnamon

1/8 t nutmeg

1 T chia seeds (optional)

2 T + 1 T chopped walnuts

2 T + 1 T pumpkin seeds

Cinnamon sugar

* To easily cook sweet potato, pierce skin all over with a fork and microwave 4-5 min until tender. Scoop out insides, mash and measure correct amount. I used about 2/3 of a medium/large sweet potato and saved the leftovers.

Directions.

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a loaf pan.

In a large bowl, cream margarine, oil, agave and sweet potato mash. Mix in milk.

In a medium bowl, add flour through cinnamon and chia seeds (if using). Combine well. Add half of dry ingredients to the large bowl, mix and add the remaining half.